SmallSoldier wrote: ↑09 Jul 2023, 21:51
FittingMechanics wrote: ↑09 Jul 2023, 21:33
SmallSoldier wrote: ↑09 Jul 2023, 20:55
It’s interesting that most have a feeling of what the right tire for McLaren was without a pinch of information or data in regards to tire degradation, how fast the car can heat them up (which could end up overheating them… Like the RBR did at one point)… They not only had the information from the long runs on Friday, they also had information from the Mediums that came out of Piastri’s car… For all we know, Lando could have finished 5th if they went for Softs… Why not give the team credit given that the result validates their decision?
Because I find it unlikely that the car can run 25-30 laps on Mediums full of fuel and then fail to run 15 on softs empty. Zak said that it was borderline call so we're not that off. I bet that in the coming races we will see that the car is fine with tire usage and that this was an overly cautious call. Lando seems to think so too.
But let's assume I am wrong, I still feel that going the same way with both cars (and both against the other teams) was a mistake. They could have split strategy and it would be safer for the team.
Verstappen was struggling with the Softs before the end of the race, they delivered the result… They may know more than you (or I) what the right tire was, I mean maybe they know a little bit more than we do.
In any case, no point in debating opinions… In my opinion, is silly to argue against a decision made based in a lot of data, lap time simulation, etc, but maybe they should scrap all that and run it by feeling, who knows
It worked out fine, so what can we say?
You do wonder though, if Hamilton had got past early on (and it was not just the speed of the car but Lando's perfect defensive driving that prevented that), his tyres would not have cooked and he'd then be defending from Lando and who knows what would have happened, my view is we had a good chance to get him back as his used tyres neared the end of the life as I stated in the race. This to me suggests how close it was between the Hards and the Softs. I also don't know how many laps those used had on them.
But if they didn't have the softs ready and warmed for the cars then they can't put them on, so there is only one decision to make! Hard tyres.
Had the soft tyres been ready I agree with many on here that I would be more comfortable with those, and I think Norris who knew the tyres intimately was of the same mind, but it doesn't matter, it isn't worth arguing about. We got P2, Lando did what he needed to do to protect the position when it was under threat and saw it through.
Most important thing for all to remember is it is fine to have a view, but it is just a perspective and there is no right or wrong so don't get hung up on it, some think hards, some think softs... I think we got P2 anyway
What is obvious is the call probably was super close anyway, both with pro's and con's. What's nice is that in this situation the team got some valuable data and can use this in the next situation, so all is good.
